> but it's arguable as to whether that effect is actually the primary intention of driving users away from web content and toward standalone clients.
To the degree that people use dedicated apps, it is to that same degree that they're not using browsers and open media.
The motive for creating dedicated apps should seem obvious -- it turns a public forum into a series of competing private experiences, each with a loyal (or trapped) following. The classic example is Facebook -- people could have social media with a browser in a much less structured way, but people prefer Facebook, even though it is a highly structured, separate environment, one in which Mark Zuckerberg gets to decide what experience you have.
Because of Facebook's success, many other companies want some version of the same structure -- a controlled version of web browsing, separate from the public kind.
> In all likelihood, the net effect of attempting to shovel users off the web and into native apps is probably detrimental to the bottom line.
If that were true, people would avoid it (and Facebook would fail). But it's not true, and Web metrics support the idea that a dedicated app is a more efficient way to generate profits than waiting for people to visit your public Web site.
> ... to avoid "out of site, out of mind".
Cute pun on "out of sight, out of mind".